I’ve made quite a few things in the last year since I really started sewing, but very little of it has been just for me. This quilt, however, is mine all mine. It’s basically 100% out of Jessica Levitt’s book Modern Mix. It’s called the Boyfriend Quilt, but sorry Ryan – it’s for me!
My dad built these nifty copper stands for a photo show that he did, and now I’ve usurped them in the name of taking better photos of my quilts.
My bedroom colors are grass green, cream, and brown, so I even went with the colors Levitt used in the book. I started with five colors of Moda white and cream for the brick-like patchwork strips, and I love, love, love how they turned out. I want to do an entire quilt in those muted tones – I think it would be gorgeous.
The brown and green fabrics are a mish mash of all sorts of things, including Lizzy House, Michael Miller, and a bunch of fabrics from JoAnn. Finding green fabric that I liked was difficult. There is not a ton of green out there, and most of it was shades I didn’t want to use – hunter, forest, celadon, kelly, mint, teal, etc. I wanted GRASS. The color of a fresh cut lawn in summer. It wasn’t easy, but I’m happy with the fabrics I was finally able to find. One day, when I’m designing my own fabric line (dream!), I’ll use more bright, vibrant greens.
I quilted it with straight lines, which I didn’t like that much at first. But now that the whole thing is done, I really love how it looks, especially on the back. I’ve decided to forgo my walking foot in place of my regular foot — somehow the regular one quilts better!
The back is primarily Town and Country Tiny Diamonds by Dear Stella, with scraps from the front and the Pimatex striped binding. I bound the whole thing on a recent trip to Portland, with my quilt bunched up in my lap as Ryan drove. I was so pleased to have a completed quilt when I got home!
I absolutely love it. The only thing I wish is that I’d made a queen-size instead of a twin!
PS: My mom would want me to point out her lovely teal Art Deco birdbath she just bought. It’s just stunning!
Great job! Love the bricks especially. Isn’t it so nice to make things just for ourselves? I have a quilt like that and I loves it so much:). Jealous of your quilt photo stand! It’s so hard to take good pics of quilts.
Thank you! I am so happy with it. And I’m glad I can get some more use out of the stands my dad made! It works so much better than trying to get a friend to hold them up, or take pictures of them on the ground.
What a cool pattern. I can’t sew to save my life, but if I did, I think I would quilt. There are so many amazing designs and motifs in quilts that always thrill me. The boyfriend quilt is a good one here. Pat yourself on the back for a job well quilted.
The nice thing about quilting, and especially this quilt, is that it’s mostly just straight lines! It’s the perfect way to get into sewing :)
Love this quilt! The colors are beautiful, and you did a fantastic job! I did notice the birdbath and it is lovely, as well. :)
Thank you Jane! I’ll pass word along to my mom, too :)
Looks like a fun quilt so I am pleased you are going to keep it. It’s funny…many quits are made with someone else in mind, some will be loaners that boomerang back to you and others are just for you and home and just can’t be given away. There’s something immensely satisfying about that.
Btw, nice bird bath too
Thank you! I am so glad I made this one for me — I just love it.
This is just what I’ve been looking for! (for my boyfriend: ) Any way you could put up a tutorial of how to make it? Or measurements of the pieces? That would be AMAZING! :) Gorgeous quilt bytheway, I love the colors :)
Hi Jamie — the pattern is in the book Modern Mix! It’s copyrighted, so I can’t share it here. Check it out — there’s a lot of really wonderful patterns in it!
How would you have made a queen size? Only wondering because I love this quilt and would love to make it for a queen size I’ve even bought modern mix and everything to figure out how to make it but it only tells you how much fabric to get for the twin size quilt.
You would have to do some additional piecing. The strips are the width of a bolt of fabric (about 42″), so to get wider, you’ll have to put two pieces together to make a longer strip. I would think another 1/4 of a yard of each pattern should be more than enough. Plus extra for the binding and backing. I love how this quilt turned out — would love to see if you can make it bigger!